Choosing a Subwoofer for My Car
A subwoofer is a speaker dedicated solely to reproducing low frequencies. Most car speakers are small and for this reason, they struggle to produce enough low-frequency sound to give your music realism and depth. Soundstream is one of the leading manufactures of first-class audio and video systems. With a Soundstream Subwoofer, you can make the difference between a good-sounding and a great-sounding system.
What Are the Features to Look Out For?
- The number of voice coils: Most car audio enthusiasts prefer Dual voice coil subwoofers due to increased flexibility in wiring their sound systems. While typical subwoofers have a single voice coil, dual voice coil subwoofers use two separate voice coils, each with its own connections, mounted on one cylinder, connected to a common cone. There three ways that you wire your subs, parallel, series, and parallel/series. Parallel wiring provides for maximum amplifier output, whereas series wiring lets you configure multiple woofers to one amplifier at an acceptable impedance. In series/parallel mode, you can connect 4 woofers to a single amp, and still maintain a compatible impedance. Independent wiring, on the other hand, lets you drive a single sub without bridging.
- Power: If you want a powerful car system, then you can't afford to overlook power. Pay more attention to RMS power ratings, as opposed to peak power ratings. RMS ratings measure continuous power handling or output and are a much more realistic measure than peak power. Make sure you match the sub's power handling to your amp's power output (measuring in watts). Peak power rating, on the other hand, is the amount of power the subwoofer can handle as a brief burst during a musical peak.
- Impedance: This is the resistance offered by an electric circuit to the flow of alternating current and is measured in ohms. A subwoofer rated at 2-ohm impedance will produce more output than a 4-ohm subwoofer, given similar input wattage, because the resistance is lower.
What Are the Different Types of Subwoofer Enclosure?
- Ported box: This uses a vent to allow for air movement in and out of the enclosure chamber. This additional air movement reinforces low bass response. Ported box provides more output than a sealed box at any given level of the amplifier output.
- Sealed Box: This is an airtight enclosure housing the subwoofer. This works well for any music that demands tight, accurate bass.
- Bandpass Box: This is a special type of ported box designed for maximum bass. The woofer is mounted inside a dual-chambered box so that it fires from the sealed chamber into the ported chamber.
- Free-air Subwoofers: In this type of enclosure, we have the woofers mounted to a board attached to the rear deck or placed in the trunk against the rear seat with the trunk acting as the enclosure housing the subwoofer.